The Oracles
by TheNerdyNinja
Summary: Link is sent on an epic journey through the seasons and ages in order to save Din, Naryu, and Zelda in this novelization of the Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages games.


The morning light spread across the land, revealing a lone figure on horseback, galloping though an open field. He was dressed in a green tunic and hat, seated upon one of the finest horses in all of Hyrule.

_He was headed for __the castle__._

He stopped his horse outside the gate and entered slowly. He had been to the castle many times, and knew his way around. The people in the castle turned and looked at him as he walked past, for they knew who he was, but he barely noticed. He was focused on his destination.

His name was Link.

He entered the sacred sanctuary of Hyrule Castle and paused, looking at the three golden triangles on the altar.

The Triforce, _he thought, approaching slowly._

He had never spoken to the Triforce directly before, and words failed him as he approached. But it turned out he did not need words, for the Triforce spoke within his mind.

"So, Hero," came the voice—or was it three voices? He was unable to tell. "You are bored. The excitement has gone from your life. You come to us with a plea for adventure."

Link nodded. "Yes," he spoke, barely a whisper.

"Very well," the voice—or voices—came again. The rest of the room seemed to fade away, and all he noticed were the three triangles on the altar. The room seemed to spin around him, and his perceptions of the world grew blurred. "There is a land in need of your help." As he slowly lost consciousness, he heard them call one final time.

"Hero, accept our quest!"  


_  
Chapter One: Din and Onox_

He awoke in the midst of a night party with no recollection of what had happened and no knowledge of what was occuring. Men all around him were laughing and drinking, cheering on a woman dancing on top of a tree stump. Link shook his head. He barely remembered anything. He knew who he was, and that he had been sent here by the Triforce, but almost everything relating to his previous life seemed to be missing from his mind.

He looked over at the woman dancing on the stump. She wore a pink-red tunic, lined with triangles, sacred Hylean symbols. The golden bands around her wrists jingled as she moved. Her body and dance were seductive, her long red mane flowing. Her hair was tied back with another golden band, and it whipped around as she turned. The light of the fire illuminated her dark-skinned body, playing with his eyes until he was not sure what was reality and what was illusion.

"Wow," Link murmured appreciatively.

"Hey, hey!" a man yelled, and it wasn't until the man put an arm his shoulder did Link realize that he was talking to him. "It's good to see that you're awake!"

"Awake?" Link asked, not fully comprehending the man.

"Yeah, awake! Din there found you passed out in the meadow." Ale sloshed from his mug as he gestured to the dancing woman. "Not sure who you are or why you're were passed out in the first place, but it's good to see that you're awake now."

"My name's Link," he said, his eyes on Din. Din…why did that name sound so familiar? "Don't remember much of anything else."

"Don't remember, huh?" The man followed his gaze and laughed when he realized he was looking at Din. "Yeah, she's well built, ain't she? She's so mysterious too. It's funny—I've been in the troupe for a while now, but I still don't know much about her. No one does. Hey, you're Hylean, aren't you? Ears give it away." He referred, of course, to the pointed ears all Hyleans had.

"Uh…yeah," he muttered, thinking that the question was a fairly stupid one, as all the members of the troupe, with the possible exception of Din, were obviously Hylean.

"That's neat, kid. That's where I'm from too. The whole troupe is. It's nice to meet someone else from Hyrule here."

"Here?" Link asked. "What do you mean? Where are we?"

The man laughed. "You really don't remember anything, do you, kid? This is Holodrum!"

Link stared. "Holodrum?"

"That's right, kid, Holodrum. I'm not sure why you're here, but I guess you must not either." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Why don't you go ask Din, though? She always seems to know things that no one else is sure of. She might even let you dance with her, eh?" The man laughed.  
The song ended, and Din jumped off of the stump to talk with the largest woman that Link had ever seen in his life. They looked up and smiled as Link approached, and gestured for him to join them.

"Link! You've awakened!" Din said as he approached. She seemed much less seductive without the fire and dancing, though she was still gorgeous.

"How do you know my name?" he asked.

She laughed. "You'd be surprised at what I know. But if you really want to know, Farore told me."

"Farore?" Again, he had the feeling that he should know the name.

She ignored him. "I was worried about you. There was a red flash in the meadow, and when I went to investigate, you were lying there. Mystery surrounds you, Link. But I'm just glad you're better."

She led him to the large woman. "Link, this is Impa, the troupe's cook." The woman smiled. She was over six feet tall, and certainly looked plump enough to be a cook. Her bare arms folded across her chest, displaying her large muscles. "It's good to see you awake, Link," she said, offering him a bowl of something that he recognized as food only because Din had referred to her as a cook. He shoved a spoonful of the stuff down his throat, and had to turn around and pretend to watch the merriness so that she would not see him gag. He turned back to her, smiling. "It's good," he lied, "but I don't have much of an appetite right now."

"That's fine. Just enjoy yourself, okay? But don't push yourself—you're still probably tired. "Din smiled and turned back to Impa, pulling her away and resuming the conversation they were having as he had approached. They spoke in hushed tones, but Link could still make the words out well enough.

"You're worrying needlessly again, Impa. How could he know where I am?"

"It's just a hunch, but there's evidence! The boy has the mark on his hand, Din. He must be here for some reason. He came fully armed, and he wouldn't have come like that unless he was sent. Besides, it's not just the boy I'm worried about. The troupe has been prosperous and there's been an abundance of ale going around. Who might know what someone could learn from them when their tongues have been loosened a bit?"

Din looked thoughtful for a bit. Then she walked over to Link. "Link, can I see your hand, please?" He offered it to her, and she looked down at a mark on it that Link himself didn't remember. The mark consisted of three small triangles, stacked with two on the bottom and one on the top to form one larger triangle. Din looked back at Impa. "It's the mark, Impa." Link stood there awkwardly, not entirely sure what had taken place, but somehow sure it involved him.

"Excuse me, but I think I have a right to know what's going on here," He said. Din and Impa looked at each other, then back at Link.

"Link," Din said, "you know what that mark on your hand means, don't you?"

Link paused not sure how much to tell her. "It's…it's a Hylean mark," he said, looking at his left hand. It was a large triangle made up of three smaller yellow ones. "The symbol of the Triforce. The mark of a hero," he added.

She nodded. "You have a special fate, Link. I think that perhaps…."

Just then, the song changed again. This one was an upbeat Hylean tune, one that Link knew well. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as it played. It reminded him, somehow, of the forest—the forest…and someone he cared very much about.

"Dance with me!" Din cried, grabbing him and pulling him out of his reverie to dance with her in front of the stump. Link only had basic dancing skills, and he felt awkward next to Din, her every move precise and delicate. Halfway through the song, she suddenly stopped.

"Link," she asked, "have you ever felt like something bad was about to happen, even though you knew it was an irrational feeling?"

"What?"

"Never mind," she said, waving it off, resuming her dance, though Link could tell she wasn't enjoying it. A few seconds later, she stopped again. "Um—Link?"

She never had the chance to ask her question, though, for at that moment, lightning struck, sending the troupe scattering. The lightning struck again in the camp, though now Link could tell it was not really lightning. The bolts were too small and too precise. He knew something was up when a small tornado entered the camp, blowing the troupe members around. The tornado stopped in front of Link and Din and whirled in place for a bit before it rushed forward, the wind blowing Link aside into a heap not far off from Din.

"So, you thought you could hide, did you, Oracle?" said a voice emanating from the tornado. "Did you think you could escape Onox, General of Darkness?"

Din glared at it. "I knew it was only a matter of time before you found me, Onox" she spat. "And I suppose I'm at your mercy now, aren't I? I can't run and I can't fight." She stood up straighter, drawing herself erect on the stump. "Well, then. I'll go down with dignity. Show me the best you've got!"

"Admirable, Oracle," the whirlwind chuckled. It came forward and enclosed her in its vortex. Link pulled himself off the ground and ran to it, roaring almost as loud as the tornado itself.  
"Foolish boy," the vortex chuckled as it blew him away. Link, flying through the air, saw the vortex shoot skyward, Din within its clutches, looking down at him with a plea mirrored in her eyes. Then he hit the ground and everything went black.

~~~

_The ironclad giant stood in his temple on the pinnacle of the mountain, strolling into the room where the Oracle was chained to the massive boulder in the center. "I've found you, Oracle," he said triumphantly, smiling beneath his gold-colored armor._

The Oracle looked up, fire in her glare. "What do you plan to do with me, Onox?"  
He chuckled. "As you know, if I imprison the Oracle of Seasons, and bury the temple that houses the Season Spirits, the seasons of Holodrum will be cast into chaos, the bountiful gifts of nature will rot, and all living things will perish! That is the world of darkness that I long for—a world of chaos and disorder!"

She spat at him. "Not if I can do something about it, Onox!"

"Oh, but you can't do anything about it," he said, as the gems on top of the four pillars placed on the corners of the mat began glowing. The Oracle looked around at the glowing orbs, having time for one last scream as the beams shot from them, encasing her and leaving her suspended, though alive, in a perfect diamond.

Onox laughed cruelly. "Down, Temple of Season! Spring, summer, fall, winter…fall into chaos!" He felt the earth churn, and looked out from his mountain lair to where the Temple of Seasons stood, watching it slowly sink into the ground.

Yes, he thought, it felt good to have power.


End file.
